Meryl Streep Set to Play Librarian in Dewey Film

Oscar-winning actress Meryl Streep is reportedly slated to star in the big-screen adaptation of Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. Streep would portray Spencer (Iowa) Public Library Director Vicki Myron, who wrote the bestseller, along with Bret Witter, about the kitten that was adopted by the library staff after being abandoned in the book drop. The news came as Dewey topped the New York Times bestseller list for the second week in a row.

“No contracts are signed yet,” Myron said in the November 14 Spencer Daily Reporter. “Somebody leaked it to the press, but we’re working with New Line Cinema. They’re buying the option to make the movie and Meryl Streep will be playing me.”

Pamela Gray, who scripted Streep’s 1999 film Music of the Heart, will adapt the book. “I know that Pam Gray is going to follow me around for a couple of weeks and I have a feeling Meryl Streep is probably going to want to follow me around for awhile,” Myron told the Reporter.

Variety reported November 12 that New Line Cinema would make the film, but Myron said Streep “will make it with us no matter which studio we go with. She loves the book and she wants to play the part, so that is very exciting. But I couldn’t say anything, and now somebody has leaked it. We don’t know if New Line Cinema leaked it to the press or what. But it’s on about 10 sites [November 13]. It’s not official. No contracts have been signed, but that’s what’s happening.”

“I always knew there would probably be a movie,” Myron said. “We had planned that early on once we knew the book was good. But I guess I’m surprised at the Meryl Streep thing. I was hoping for her early on and she agreed. It’s wonderful.” Myron, who retired from the library in 2007, added that she is planning a series of children’s books revolving around Dewey and hoped to see the finalization of a merchandising deal in the near future.

Posted on November 14, 2008. Discuss.

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